Norfolk was settled by Palaeolithic settlers, the Iceni and the Romans, against whom the Iceni rebelled in AD 60 led by Boudica. The Angles settled after the departure of the Romans, and by the 5th century controlled the region and became the “north folk” and the “south folk”: hence “Norfolk” and “Suffolk”.

By the time of the Domesday Book survey the region was one of the most densely populated parts of the British Isles. During the high and late Middle Ages the county developed arable agriculture and woollen industries. The economy was in decline by the time of the Black Death, which dramatically reduced the population in 1349.

Kett’s Rebellion occurred in Norfolk during the reign of Edward VI, Kett’s group numbered some 16,000 by the time the rebels stormed Norwich on 29 July 1549 and took the city. Kett’s rebellion ended on 27 August. Kett was captured, held in the Tower of London, tried for treason, and hanged from the walls of Norwich Castle.

In the 20th century the county developed a role in aviation. The first development in airfields came with the First World War; there was then a massive expansion during the Second World War with the growth of the Royal Air Force and the influx of the American USAAF 8th Air Force which operated from many Norfolk airfields.